SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Even if Latrell Sprewell really doesn't care
about his individual statistics or accomplishments, he should be
pleased with the basket that put him over 10,000 career points.

The basket, a fastbreak lay-in with 4:15 left, capped a
fourth-quarter run that put the New York Knicks ahead by 20
points on their way to a 110-95 rout of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Sprewell, who scored 18 points in the romp, passed the milestone
just days after coach Jeff Van Gundy praised the eighth-year
swingman for his unselfishness and for never complaining about
whether plays are called for him or how many shots he gets.

"It's nice, it's nice," Sprewell said. "It's not something I
was looking forward to but it's nice to have accomplished that."

Sprewell's layup put the Knicks ahead, 102-82, giving them their
largest lead and squashing Seattle's last hopes of turning
around their fortunes.

New York improved to 2-1 on its five-game West Coast road trip,
with games against Vancouver and the league-leading Los Angeles
Lakers still to come. The victory lifted the Knicks within a
half game of idle Miami for first place in the Atlantic Division
and two games ahead of Philadelphia for third overall in the
Eastern Conference.

"That pretty much tells you everything you need to know," Sonics
coach Paul Westphal said. "They shot the ball well. We didn't
defend them and they made some good shots, but if you're going
to get beat 57-30 on the boards, you're not going to beat
anyone."

Seattle suffered its fifth straight home loss, its worst home
streak since the 1972-73 season. The defeat came two days after
guards Gary Payton and Vernon Maxwell had to be pulled apart
after tangling in practice.

The Sonics looked like they had put their problems behind them
as they raced to a 15-2 lead in the first four minutes. Payton
went 3-for-3 from the field and the frustrated Knicks were
whistled for their second illegal defense with 8:50 left in
opening period.

After Ewing was called for a technical foul for arguing, New
York went on a 12-0 run that was capped by back-to-back
3-pointers by Ward with 4:53 to go.

"I think Charlie set the tone in the first quarter," Camby said.
"He hit a couple of 3s that got us back in the game."

Seattle held a 40-37 edge midway through the second period
before the Knicks went on a 19-6 charge to take a 56-46 lead
with 1:07 left before halftime. Sonics rookie Jelani McCoy
started New York's run when he was called for goaltending a
Camby shot.

Houston, who had missed his first five shots, hit a pair of
jumpers and a 3-pointer before Ewing converted back-to-back
three-point plays that put Vin Baker on the bench with three
fouls during the run.

Seattle clawed back within 71-66 late in the third quarter, but
New York closed out the period on a 13-5 run, carried by Camby.
The 6-10 forward scored nine points and drew an offensive foul
in the run that gave the Knicks an 84-71 lead entering the final
12 minutes.

"When Marcus has been healthy he has played well," Van Gundy
said. "He plays hard every night. Some nights he has a rougher
time finishing plays, but you can always count on him giving you
a boost. Tonight, you can't play any better than that."

Payton led Seattle with 21 points and 10 assists and second-year
forward Rashard Lewis scored 18 points. Payton's third steal of
the game gave him 1,725 for his career, moving him ahead of
Magic Johnson into the 11th spot on the all-time list.

"It (the game) was lost on the boards and on effort," Seattle
forward Horace Grant said. "We've got to stop being selfish.
When we were winning we were moving the ball, but now it's `Me,
me, me.' It's got to stop."